


King And Lionheart

by jcknwng



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, College AU, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Smut (eventually), Sports Injury, Touching, blood mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5442800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jcknwng/pseuds/jcknwng
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oikawa Tooru is a model student at Tsukuba College in Tokyo. He's got both boys and girls falling at his feet and wanting his attention. Iwaizumi Hajime, a transfer student from Miyagi, is his new dorm-mate. Oikawa is over the moon with his new eye candy, but Iwaizumi is a lot more difficult to please than he'd initially hoped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oikawa.

Everything that Oikawa Tooru did seemed to be as effortless as his good looks. It was as though he got out of bed with perfect hair, and that his somewhat dazzling personality didn't have an off switch. Of course, truthfully, it was fairly exhausting. As much as he'd deny it if asked, Oikawa spent a long time on his hair, making sure that unruly strands were tamed and that his bangs fell just the way they needed to to give him that effective 'puppy dog look'. In the morning, he could stay at the mirror for a good hour before he even bothered to pick out his clothes for that day. His wardrobe had a wide variety of outfits. He always picked what reflected his opinion of the day at that point. Although he usually went for semi-smart trousers, a button up shirt and a nice sweater (especially knitted for him, more often than not). 

Today had been busy. He'd woken up earlier than he'd wanted to due to the students across the hall having a raging argument about not feeding the goldfish. He'd tried to get back to sleep once their infuriating rowing had stopped but it was no use. Once Oikawa was awake, that was that. His energy bar had already started to fill up and it would take a day of lectures and coaching to get him ready for sleep again. And that's exactly how the day had gone. He'd done a demonstration in his Sports Management class and had his brain pumped full of information during Exercise Physiology. His day had been topped off with an hour of coaching a bunch of junior school students how to spike a ball. It was draining, but Oikawa didn't mind the attention it got him.

He'd arrived back at his dorm, tiredness seeping into his bones as he removed his sports bag from his shoulder, dumping it by the side of his desk and then allowing himself to flop lazily onto his bed. Only then did his exhaustion fully take hold of him. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping when there was a knock at his door.

There was little light coming from his window which instantly told Oikawa that it was late. He threw a glance at his alarm clock - 20:34 - who would even be here at this time? He hadn't rushed to his door, pushing himself off his bed and shuffling to it. He waited for the knock to come again before opening it, arms stretching above his head and a fake yawn escaping his lips. 

"Hello~~" Oikawa's voice was as sing-songy as ever as his gaze fell on the Head of his dormitories. He tried to keep his bright smile void of smugness when he saw the older male in front of him shift his weight, a soft blush forming on his cheeks. "Did I miss a fire alarm?" Oikawa asked, eyes widening slightly.

"N-No, Oikawa." The other male's reply was shaky and gentle, and it only made Oikawa's smile broaden. "I was just coming to let you know that your new dorm-mate will be arriving soon." 

Oikawa frowned for a split second. He didn't know he was getting a dorm-mate. Everyone that he had previously been paired with had been too intimidated to room with him and so had transferred as soon as possible. Oikawa didn't mind that - he liked the feeling of power that his presence seemed to hold. But it did make him wonder who would possibly not care about the fact that it was Oikawa Tooru? Perhaps it was a student who thought they had a chance. "What's his name, Maki-chan?" 

He blushed again at the name given to him by Oikawa, and then realised that he needed to check the paper in his hand. 

"His name is Iwaizumi. Hajime Iwaizumi. He's a transfer student from Miyagi." Maki-chan stated, handing over the transfer sheet without a second thought. "Well, Oikawa, I'll leave you to it. Have a lovely evening!" He didn't wait for a reply before he turned on his heel and rushed back down the corridor. Oikawa stared after him for a few moments before closing his door, eyes falling to the paper in his hand. 

Iwaizumi Hajime. What an oddly pleasant name.

~~ 

Oikawa had spent the next hour sorting out the dorm so that Iwaizumi at least had some room to put whatever stuff he had. 

The dorm room was quite roomy. There were two single beds which both had a chest of drawers at the bottom. Oikawa had a wardrobe which he had brought from home (because of his wide variety of clothes). There were also two desks with two simple chairs. If the room had been split down the middle (sans Oikawa's wardrobe) then it would have been like looking in a mirror. 

Since the other side of the room had never been used, Oikawa had placed most of his products on the free desk, so that he could use his own for actual studying. But now he had his products, notebooks and Mac set on his own desk. It looked messy, and it made Oikawa wrinkle his nose in disgust. Maybe this new guy wouldn't need much space and he could return his room back to the way it was before. 

Oikawa had only just finished removing some stray shoes from under the free bed when there was a light knock at the door, before it opening. Oikawa turned his body, eyes preparing to meet some nerdy little guy who had a red face and probably some flowers for his best idol. Instead his gaze fell upon a rather tall and clearly _sturdy_ man. His skin was darker than Oikawa's and his hair was messy, gelled spikes shooting up in every direction. There was no blush on this guy's cheeks and he definitely didn't look like a nerdy marshmallow who had just got the room to oggle Oikawa while he 'studied'. _So this is Iwaizumi?_ Oikawa asked himself, dropping his sneakers onto the floor by his bed. 

Iwaizumi was now fully in the room, the holdall in his hand looking featherlight to the male. He quietly moved over to his new bed, placing down the bag before looking at Oikawa. 

Oikawa hadn't realised he was staring with his head to the side.

"Uh - it's Oikawa, right? I'm Iwaizumi." Oikawa thought he liked the way his name sounded, rolling off this guy's tongue. 

"Yes I am! The One and Only! Nice to meet you, Iwaizumi." He took the hand that was extended to him, enthusiastically shaking it. Iwaizumi was a rather wordy name. He'd have to come up with something else.

Although while he was thinking this, he could see Iwaizumi's face twisting into something unreadable. Oikawa was pretty certain it was discomfort, though.

"You transferred, right? What's your major?" Oikawa flopped back down onto his bed, propping himself up on his elbow so he could still see Iwaizumi. The other male was removing the contents from his bag and he seemed reluctant to answer. Oikawa was about to talk about what _he_ was majoring in, when Iwaizumi spoke.

"Medical science, mainly sports medicine." He was looking at Oikawa now, suddenly shifted to lean against his chest of drawers. Iwaizumi's gaze slipped from Oikawa to his bedside table which held a number of volleyball awards. "You're sport sciences, right?" Iwaizumi had clearly done his homework.

Oikawa beamed.

"That's right, Iwai-" he stopped mid sentence, frowning again at the irritatingly long name. "I'm a sports science major but I do coaching as a minor, too. This College doesn't have a competing volleyball team, but it will once I've done here!" Oikawa grinned, excited at the mere idea of it. Oikawa Tooru, bringing Tsukuba College to Nationals and _winning_! "Hey Iwa-chan, you'll have to be my personal first aider if I get hurt." he chuckled, flashing his best irresistible grin at Iwaizumi.

But it didn't work.

Iwaizumi simply looked at him with his eyebrows raised. When he spoke, his voice was thick with irritation.

"Don't call me Iwa-chan." 

So Iwa-chan was one of _those_ boys. Broody, moody and handsome. That was fine with Oikawa.


	2. Iwaizumi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing this fic in chapters based on each character. It does not go in any order but the chapters will be based on the POV of whatever character it is about. 
> 
> With this chapter, I wanted to do something quieter and introduce Suga. I'm glad Iwa has a friend n_n I hope you like it!

From the moment Iwaizumi had met Oikawa Tooru, he'd known that the boy would bring nothing but trouble. He was arrogant, apparently selfish and far too pretty to have a personality as foul as he did. However, Iwaizumi had not anticipated the hassle it would cause him simply by being his dorm-mate. His first day at his new college had resulted in him yelling at first years and missing a decent amount of important notes in his Treatments lecture. All day he'd had people stop him to ask about Oikawa. 

How did he look while he was sleeping? Was he as cute in his PJs as he was in his sports kit? Are you blinded by his fabulous smile? There'd been plenty more questions which Iwaizumi had ignored. By the time his last lecture came, he'd already started responding to people with a glare. While he could see the curiosity was still there, they soon backed away. How could one boy harass him so much when he wasn't even around? It was mind boggling.

After his final lecture, he'd retired to the library in an attempt to get away from prying questions. He'd also not particularly wanted to return to his dorm just in case he was greeted by Oikawa's smug face. He found an empty table in the corner of the room and settled down, pulling out his notebook and the book he'd picked out about treatments. His aim was to flick through the book to find out any information he may have missed during today's lecture. He'd barely gotten into writing notes when a light clearing of a throat disturbed him. 

Iwaizumi looked up from his book, expecting to see either one of Oikawa's fans, or Oikawa himself. Instead it was the grey-haired smiley boy that he'd seen in his treatments lecture today. Iwaizumi frowned at him, waiting for some ridiculous question about Oikawa's eyes.

"I have notes from today's lecture, if you'd like to use them. I noticed that you were getting a lot of attention from Aoto-san," he said politely, and Iwaizumi's frown was replaced with a light smile. He gestured to the seat next to him, and the boy took it. He set his bag down by the chair and pulled out a notepad. It was decorated with stars and Iwaizumi also noticed the several '#1' scribbled dotted around with hearts beside them. He wanted to ask what they meant, but he didn't even know this boy's name. Grey hair turned the pages of his book until he landed on a page titled 'Treatments' in a neat scrawl. Grey hair pushed the book towards him, that bright smile still dancing on his face. "I'm Sugawara, by the way. Sugawara Koushi." He extended a hand which Iwaizumi shook without hesitation. 

"Iwaizumi." He replied, offering his own less-bright smile. "Thank you, Sugawara." The grin he received was a 'no problem' and 'any time' all in one.

The two sat in silence while Iwaizumi copied down some of the notes. Sugawara's writing was neat, his notes set out in a way that could easily be understood. It was far better than Iwaizumi's scribble which was so bad that his teachers often mistook some words for others. It had always been embarrassing for Iwaizumi as he'd grown up, but now he didn't care. He understood his writing and that was all that mattered. He put his pen down after finishing another point, resting his gaze on Sugawara. His classmate was reading a sports magazine, eyes settled on a picture from the volleyball column. 

"Do you play?" Iwaizumi asked quietly, plucking Sugawara from his trance. The other male put down the magazine and turned to face Iwaizumi, smile meeting his eyes this time. 

"I used to." Sugawara leaned back in his seat, tapping a finger to his elbow. "I was a setter, but I shattered my elbow and now I can't play." Although this news would be enough to break someone down, Sugawara seemed indifferent about it. "I had a good run, though. We won at Nationals once. I wish I could say I was their setter for the winning game, though." He sighed, but it was full of nostalgia and wonder, rather than bitterness and sadness. "We had this amazing first year setter who became brilliant. He still is, actually." Sugawara chuckled as he tapped the picture in his magazine. It was a picture of Kageyama Tobio who had just won Setter of the Year for his team, Aoba Johsai. Iwaizumi felt a swell in his stomach. He knew that school. He'd almost gone there. 

"Do you miss it, Sugawara-san?" Iwaizumi asked suddenly, before wanting to bite back his words. Sugawara simply laughed, though. He shrugged his shoulders, closing his magazine.

"I'd be a fool if I didn't, Iwaizumi-san. But my boyfriend still plays and I get to watch him, so it's not all bad - are you done?" Sugawara nodded towards his notepad and Iwaizumi nodded, closing it and pushing it back across the table. 

"Yes, thank you. Those were really helpful." Sugawara nodded, picking up his notepad and slipping it back into his bag. 

"I'm glad!" He checked his watch, eyes widening. "Oh! I have to go, Iwaizumi-san. But sit next to me in the next lecture we have together - it's tomorrow at ten!" He got to his feet, Iwaizumi mirrored him without even thinking. 

"Yes. I'll definitely do that. See you, Sugawara-san." 

"Call me Suga, too! Have a great evening, Iwaizumi-san." He winked and left the library quickly, gracefully pulling his bag onto his back as he did so. Iwaizumi watched in amusement. Sugawara was the type of person he _wanted_ to spend time with. 

He sat back down, looking at his own notes in his book. He read over them a few times, trying not to think about the not-so-pleasant-male he was sharing a dorm with. 

When he eventually packed his book away and left the library, he couldn't help but wonder if there was some way he could bypass Oikawa's obnoxious personality for the rest of his college life. But when he entered his dorm room and saw Oikawa playing with his hair in the mirror, he lost all hope. Iwaizumi ignored him best he could through the evening, though, until he eventually fell asleep. 

He would put good money on a bet that said Oikawa was still talking about himself long after Iwaizumi had slipped off into dream land.


	3. Oikawa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance for this. I'm ill with flu but I wanted to add a chapter :c

For the past 2 weeks, Oikawa had tried to let Iwaizumi's indifference fly over his head. He didn't care that this medical man with a bad hairstyle and even worse fashion sense didn't want to give him the time of day. Sure, they'd spoken a few times, briefly. It had mainly been Iwaizumi throwing some sports related question Oikawa's way, claiming it was _for science_. Oikawa had answered and then attempted to continue the conversation, only to be cut off by Iwaizumi. The longest conversation they'd had was about why Iwaizumi was interested in medicine. Even then, it only lasted a few sentences before Iwaizumi seemed to realise who he was talking to. 

But Oikawa didn't care. Not even a little.

He'd left before Iwaizumi this morning, wanting to get in some practice before his coaching lesson today. He didn't mind coaching the junior school kids, they were eager to learn and always threw compliments his way. If there was anything Oikawa lived for, it was praise. 

He hadn't spent as long getting ready this morning, wanting to be out of the dorm early so that he could grab breakfast at the cafe just off campus. He'd often had breakfast there and was fairly happy with the fan club he'd managed to gain - it was made up of early birds who had woken up early to do some last minute cramming before classes. The type you'd find camping out in the library if you dared to stay long enough. But they were nice and they offered Oikawa compliments. 

However this morning, he wasn't the only person who had left their dorm early. Maki-chan was walking with his head down, hands in his loose jogging bottoms. Oikawa took a moment to admire the slip of skin that showed just above Maki-chan's hip, where his sleepy-self had failed to pull his shirt down entirely. His admiration lasted all of five seconds before he spoke. "Maki-chan, aren't we the early bird this morning?~" His voice was almost as sing-songy as the birds which were beginning to wake up. It only served to make Maki-chan jump, though.

When his gaze met Oikawa's, he blushed. It rose from his neck right to his ears, and it gave Oikawa an sense of satisfaction. "Oh, uh, good morning Oikawa-san. Where are you off to?" 

"I'm going to Tiger Cafe - I've got coaching all~ day so I need to make sure I have a filling breakfast!" Oikawa grinned and Maki-chan returned it. 

"Ah, of course, coaching! I was hoping you would take Iwaizumi-san with you - he hasn't played for a while so it may be good for him to see it." Maki put his hands on his hips as he waited for Oikawa's reply. Which was a simple thumbs up. "Fantastic! I'll let you get off then. Bye, Oikawa-san." Maki didn't wait much longer before he trudged down the hall and into his dorm. 

Iwaizumi used to play volleyball? But not for a while? Why? What happened? Would this explain why he was doing sports medicine? These questions were zooming around in Oikawa's head, making him dizzy with curiosity. That was that - today he would find out more about the Mysterious Iwaizumi Hajime. 

After all, Oikawa lived for challenges. 

~~

"Iwa-chan are you listening to me?"

"No." 

"Rude Iwa-chan! Why are you so mean to me?"

"Have you _heard_ yourself? Stop whining at me." 

Oikawa pouted at Iwaizumi's words, arms folded across his chest. He'd been stood in the junior school gym with Iwaizumi for the past hour, trying to get his dorm-mate to talk about his time playing volleyball. Iwaizumi wasn't budging, though. "I'm not _whining_. I'm persisting." 

"Yeah but your persistence is whiny-esque."

"Now you're just making words up, Iwa-chan."

"Stop calling me Iwa-chan, Assikawa." 

Oikawa didn't have time to dodge the pencil that was thrown at him, it had already hit his nose by the time he'd realised it had even left Iwaizumi's hand. He rubbed at the spot, despite it not actually hurting. He gave up for the time being, sitting down on the bench beside Iwaizumi. He'd set his students off practicing spikes and setting before joining Iwaizumi. The other male had spent all his time looking at his medical notes and had only occasionally turned his attention to the students. 

"Just answer one question for me." Oikawa could never drop things for too long. He waited until Iwaizumi had closed his book and turned to him before continuing. "Why did you quit playing volleyball?" 

Iwaizumi shifted in his seat, looking down at his hands for a moment before shrugging. "I didn't _quit_." Iwaizumi sighed, looking towards the students. 

Oikawa waited for him to expand, but he didn't. He cocked his head to the side, watching Iwaizumi watch the students. 

"Stop staring at me, Assikawa." Iwaizumi grumbled, not taking his eyes away from the students who had taken it upon themselves to start a 3 against 3 game. "Seriously, take a picture, it'll last longer." 

"Oh Iwa-chan, can we have a selfie?"

Only then did he look at Oikawa, his face twisted in a sense that would make you think Oikawa had just suggested murdering the Queen. 

"Absolutely not." Oikawa was already taking out his phone. "Get that away from me." He'd leaned in towards Iwaizumi, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Oikawa pressed the button just as Iwaizumi pushed him off the bench. 

"Owch, Iwa-chan! That hurt!" 

"Good." 

"I'll tell Maki-chan!" 

"I'm shaking in my sneakers, honestly." 

Oikawa spent the last hour as far away from Iwaizumi as possible.


	4. Iwaizumi

Much to Iwaizumi's distaste, he'd been asked to join Oikawa on several more trips to the junior school where Oikawa coached. Okay, so perhaps it had been a chore the first three times, but then Iwaizumi had realised he'd been looking forward to it. He hadn't played volleyball since high school. He missed it terribly, and watching the junior school kids get excited about spikes and blocks filled him with such sincere happiness that he'd be a fool to hate going. The part he could do without would be Oikawa himself. He asked far too many questions and Iwaizumi wasn't used to that. He wasn't used to people being interested in him. However fake their interest may have been. Although the way Oikawa asked him things, eyes wide and grin so wide Iwaizumi was sure Oikawa had drawn it on, made Iwaizumi think that maybe he was being genuine. 

Iwaizumi had answered some questions, to test the waters. And while Oikawa had initially responded with some tacky pun or reference to himself, Iwaizumi had become rather fond of it. It wasn't particularly genuine, but it didn't make Iwaizumi feel belittled, either. 

"Good morning Iwaizumi! Will you play today?" Iwaizumi had been reading the sports magazine that Sugawara had given him yesterday, taking in the information about Kageyama's progress, when Riko had spoken. Riko was one of the junior school kids that Oikawa had been coaching. Her mousy brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and her glasses were almost too big for her face. She'd often skip over to speak to Iwaizumi ever since he'd patched her scuffed knee up with a Hello Kitty band aid. He offered her a smile as she sat down on the bench beside him.

"Good morning, Riko. I wish I could! But I have a lot of work to do." He gestured to the notepad and two medical books set beside him on the floor. Riko eyed the books before pouting, her gaze falling back on Iwaizumi's face. 

"Not even for five minutes? You can spike for me!" Her hands were pulled together, fingers laced with each other as she shuffled to her knees on the bench, eyes level with his. " _Please, Iwaizumi, please_." It was almost difficult to say no to that, but Iwaizumi thought about the consequences to playing for even a minute and knew he couldn't.

"Maybe another time, Riko. I'm sure Oikawa will spike for you." 

Riko sighed, clumsily climbing off the bench and nodding her head. "Okay. I will ask Oikawa." She sounded defeated as she turned and walked towards where he was gracefully setting to one of the other students. 

Iwaizumi wished he could have played. 

~~

"Ah Iwa-chan. What. A. Day." Oikawa's voice was still chirpy despite how much he'd been running around. He dropped down onto the bench with an audible thud, and Iwaizumi wondered how many bruises the other male had gained from simply doing that. Iwaizumi had managed to get a lot of work done. He'd spent the morning identifying pressure points and weak spots - definitely not on an Oikawa inspired drawing - and did some reading on the signs and causes of certain types of sports injuries. For the last ten minutes, he'd watched Oikawa spike for Riko, and he felt at least a little happy that she was smiling. The kids had all been excused, and had returned to their classes. "Say, Iwa-chan. Want to spike for me for a little while?" 

Iwaizumi turned to face him, raising his brow at Oikawa. "You're literally shaking from exhaustion, Assikawa." 

"Ah, a keen eye - you'll go far, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa grinned, patting Iwaizumi on the shoulder once before retracting his arm at the look he received. "But I'm good as gold. I'll still be here for another couple of hours yet." 

That was true - Iwaizumi never left with Oikawa, despite Iwaizumi offering to drop him back at campus. Oikawa didn't usually roll back into the dorm until late in the evening, when Iwaizumi had already settled down for the night. 

"I'll pass." 

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to spike for you."

"Don't or can't?"

Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa, who actually stood his ground, gaze not moving away from Iwaizumi's face. He wanted to push Oikawa off the bench again.

"Don't."

"You hesitated! Does Iwa-chan find me intimidating!?" 

"Piss off, Shittykawa." Iwaizumi could feel his cheeks burning as he turned to put his books back into his rucksack. "I don't want to spike for you, ever. Drop it." 

"Come on, Iwa-chan. Don't be like that! Prove me wrong." Oikawa was getting on Iwaizumi's last nerve. He finally finished stuffing his things into his bag, frustrated at the fact his notes would now be crumpled and probably torn. He clipped his bag shut before turning to Oikawa. Upon seeing the vexation in Iwaizumi's expression, Oikawa leaned back. 

"No, Oikawa." His voice was steady, despite the anger bubbling in his stomach. He hated himself for letting Iwaizumi taunt him, but it was a sore subject for him. Of course he wanted to spike for Oikawa. He wanted to feel the ball on his hand. He wanted to score points. He wanted to see if Oikawa's sets were as good to spike as they looked. He wanted to.

But he physically could not. 

"Do you want taking back?" Oikawa hadn't spoken, so within the silence, he'd taken the opportunity to change the subject. Oikawa waited for a second before nodding his head and getting to his feet. Iwaizumi was surprised, to say the least.

"Wait for me, Iwa-chan. Let's go grab lunch or something." Oikawa grinned, eyes shining as though Iwaizumi hadn't just bitten his head off. Iwaizumi nodded, sitting back down and watching as Oikawa disappeared to get changed. 

~~

They'd stopped off at Tiger Cafe on the way back to campus, since Oikawa had been singing their praises. The car journey was like usual. Oikawa was rambling on about his glory days and what his dreams for the future of Tsukuba were. Iwaizumi nodded and grunted in reply to questions simplistic questions he was asked - and claiming he was busy driving when a question he didn't want to answer cropped up.

There was no mention of Iwaizumi's outburst. 

Once inside the cafe, Oikawa had headed towards a booth by the window - his regular spot, probably - and Iwaizumi had followed him. They ordered drinks and food almost instantly, and then were left with each other. It wasn't awkward. Iwaizumi found that Oikawa was actually soothing to be around, when he wasn't being completely pompous. Although Oikawa's behaviour and personality made him want to punch a wall, he was grateful it didn't turn him into a blubbering mess. He was still getting stopped by his classmates who wanted to know what shampoo Oikawa wore and if he slept in PJs or just underwear. He couldn't ever imagine being so infatuated with someone that he'd concern himself with details like that. 

"Are you going back to Miyagi for Christmas break, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked once their food at arrived. He picked up some tofu with his chop sticks and popped it into his mouth. Iwaizumi shook his head at the question.

"No. Are you?" Iwaizumi popped a piece of squid into his mouth as he waited for Oikawa's reply. 

"Nope! My parents are travelling so I'm sticking here this Christmas. At least we both have company now!" Oikawa grinned. Iwaizumi couldn't help but smile. It was small and unless you'd seen Iwaizumi smile before, you wouldn't know it was there. "I'll make you my special peppermint hot chocolate, Iwa-chan."

"Aren't I the lucky one?" 

"You are! People would give their left arm to have Christmas with me!" Oikawa grinned. Iwaizumi knew he was right. There would be people who probably stayed at Christmas for the chance to even see Oikawa without hoards of fans around him.

"More fool them, to be honest." 

"I'm being nice and you're just rude, Iwa-chan!" 

Iwaizumi found himself chuckling, and it made Oikawa's face twist in confusion. 

"Shut up and eat your tofu so we can go back, Assikawa. You stink of sweat." 

He pouted but continued to eat, nose wrinkling as he realised that Iwaizumi wasn't just trying to insult him.


	5. Oikawa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely recommend listening to Sara Bareilles - I Choose You. It's my inspo for this fic tbh. Also I cheated and added in a Chapter 5.5 because cuties. The Christmas-session will probs go on a for a few more chapters I feel. I hope you like it!

Christmas came around faster than Oikawa had expected. Since he and Iwaizumi had had lunch together, things had been a little different. Iwaizumi had opened up a little more - not much, but enough to mean he'd hold a conversation with Oikawa now. Oikawa had found himself growing quite fond of the other male, although he was fairly certain that the crush was not reciprocated. He'd had crushes before, this was no different. 

Iwaizumi had joined him on a few more coaching trips, despite it not being mandatory for him to do so. He'd claimed that the gym was calming for him, and that he enjoyed seeing little Riko "Because she makes up for the fact I'm in the same vicinity as you." Oikawa had started to grow used to Iwaizumi's insults, since he knew that there was no venom in them. 

Iwaizumi was strangely calm, although he came across as being constantly angry. Like there was something in him that had once clicked, and had no 'off switch'. But even with that in mind, there had only been a few times where Iwaizumi had seemed to truly snap. Oikawa found that his outbursts were caused by frequent talk of him playing volleyball. Oikawa subconsciously made a mental note to not bring it up anymore. He preferred it when Iwaizumi was relaxed. He was much easier to read - although Oikawa would be lying if he said he didn't still struggle to do so. 

They'd started to eat lunch together more often too. It had started being a routine after coaching but when Iwaizumi had stopped coming, he'd ended up picking Oikawa up from the school anyway. Oikawa's teasing fell on deaf ears though, and Iwaizumi insisted that it was on his way anyway. Oikawa saw right through it, but he didn't press. While Iwaizumi accepted his teasing with a half-assed frown and a light insult, he'd do what he could to keep it that way. 

He hadn't mentioned that the cafe knew their order by heart now - or that he'd noticed how Iwaizumi knew his word for word. It was nice. It was one of the things Oikawa found himself genuinely smiling about. 

The closer to Christmas it got, the more Iwaizumi seemed to unfold. When classes had ended and most of the other students had gone home for Christmas break, Iwaizumi slipped into festive mode. Oikawa didn't think he would ever be able to forget returning to his dorm after a day at the gym and finding Iwaizumi blasting Christmas songs, a cheesy Christmas sweater on and make-shift decorations hung up around the room. He had taken the image of Iwaizumi Hajime cutting up paper snowflakes and kept it in the back of his mind. Although it was clear that Iwaizumi had been in the mulled wine when he simply grinned at Oikawa's entrance. He made a mental note to take Iwaizumi out drinking one night. 

Oikawa loved Christmas. He'd always spent it with his parents, in his old room which never changed. It still had the same alien wallpaper, the walls still bore Oikawa's tattered posters of bands he didn't even like and films he'd never even seen. His bookshelf was still littered with scrapbooks and astronomy books. He still had all of his old clothes - and it always cemented that his fashion sense was still very much the same. His quilt covers still had stars on it and was dotted with alien faces and spaceships. 

No. Oikawa had not changed much. 

On Christmas morning, he'd wake up first - ignoring the fact he was very much 20 years old and was probably too old for the song and dance - and make sure to prepare 3 mugs of hot chocolate for when his parents woke up. They'd always come down not too long after Oikawa, and then they'd all sit, opening their gifts and drinking their hot chocolate. Oikawa always bought well for people - he couldn't remember the last time he'd ever gotten a gift wrong. He was always happy with whatever he got and he'd mastered faking appreciation when he opened something he wasn't interested in. A book about bugs, a football because his uncle still didn't know the difference between volleyball and soccer, despite Oikawa explaining it in detail, with diagrams, countless times. He always helped with Christmas dinner. Then after dinner they'd play games until Oikawa's parents were too merry to carry on standing. The night ended with a movie (always the one Oikawa had bought for his mother) and everyone would end up falling asleep beneath the blankets that were brought out especially for the holiday. 

Oikawa couldn't think of a more perfect way to spend Christmas. 

But this year was different. There was no old bedroom, no parents to make hot chocolate for, no blankets to snuggle under. It was just him and Iwaizumi. He was still looking forward to it. 

~~

Oikawa had still woken up ridiculously early on Christmas morning. He'd checked that Iwaizumi was still passed out before he made his way to Maki-chan's kitchen. He prepared the hot chocolates that he was so used to making. With an extra sprinkle of chocolate, whipped cream and marshmallows to make it perfect, and then made his way back to the dorm. He placed Iwaizumi's mug by his bedside table before retreating to his own bed, slipping back under the covers and picking up the magazine on his bedside table. He only had to wait a couple of minutes before he heard Iwaizumi stir. Oikawa lowered the magazine so he could see Iwaizumi more clearly. The other male was pushing himself to sit up, his hair flat to his head apart from a few tufts here and there where it had started to curl. 

"Good morning Iwa-chan." Oikawa smiled brightly at Iwaizumi after he stretched, yawned and rubbed at his eyes. 

"Good morning, Oikawa." He was clearly still half-asleep, so he rubbed his eyes again for good measure. 

"And Merry Christmas! There's your hot chocolate, Iwa-chan." He watched the other male glance to where Oikawa had gestured, before he picked it up and took a small sip. He wiped at his nose, making sure there was no stray cream.

"This is good. Merry Christmas." He took another sip before placing the mug down. "I feel like you already have a schedule for today. Opening presents at 8:15am on the dot?" Iwaizumi smirked as Oikawa pouted. But even that couldn't kill his Christmas mood.

"8:30am actually, Iwa-chan." Iwaizumi grinned. "I figured we could just do whatever, whenever?" 

"Presents and lunch at Tiger?" His response was almost instant which was fairly strange for just-awake-Iwaizumi. But Oikawa would take it. He nodded his head and they finished their hot chocolate, sharing memories from Christmases at home. Iwaizumi's were more reserved than Oikawa's, it seemed. 

Iwaizumi insisted on showering and putting on day clothes before they even considered opening gifts, and Oikawa allowed it. He stuck to his PJs and robe, though. It wasn't Christmas if you didn't wear your PJs. Although he was secretly grateful. Iwaizumi's PJs were quite well fitted considering they were nightwear. Oikawa had bumped into him returning from the showers one night in them and had been pleasantly surprised with the way they failed to hide his abs or the dip in his back. Oikawa's PJs were loose - he got too warm during the night so he needed the space. 

When Iwaizumi returned, they settled themselves on Iwaizumi's bed, scattered gifts in front of them. Oikawa had numerous ones, while Iwaizumi only had a couple. From close family members and friends, he'd stated. Oikawa got socks, some shirts, a few more alien books and some tickets to a volleyball game. Iwaizumi got socks, money and chocolates. It wasn't much, but he seemed genuinely happy with all of them. He even opened a box of chocolates and began to eat them. They spent a little time comparing their socks before Iwaizumi excused himself to go to the bathroom. But he hadn't been gone for two minutes before he returned with a neatly wrapped parcel and took his seat back on his bed. 

"Now before you get all Oikawa-ish about this, I saw it and thought you might like it. So just - yeah." He dumped the parcel down in front of Oikawa and sat back, cheeks pink as he picked up another chocolate and popped it into his mouth. Oikawa cocked his head to the side. 

"Iwa-chan bought me a gift? I knew you liked me!" Oikawa grinned, picking up the gift and unwrapping it with delicate hands. It was so neatly wrapped that Oikawa didn't want to tear into it. He peeled back the wrapping paper to reveal a cuddly toy. It was one of the tiny aliens Oikawa recognised from the Toy Story series. His grin grew wide as he freed the toy from the rest of the wrapping paper and held it up in his hands. "I love it, Iwa-chan. Thank you." He glanced at Iwaizumi, whose cheeks had now turned red. All he could do was shrug his shoulders.

"It's just a toy. Whatever. You're welcome."

Chapter 5.5 - Iwaizumi

Iwaizumi would be lying if he said he hadn't been excited about spending Christmas with Oikawa. At home, they didn't do much. They opened gifts and then ordered take out, Iwaizumi would often be invited to his friends for Christmas dinner. For the past few years, he hadn't bothered to go home, instead joining Kageyama's family. 

And on this day, Iwaizumi learned a few things about Oikawa Tooru (and himself).

One - While Oikawa was like a child most days, there was something oddly enchanting about the way he shivered with excitement while opening gifts and how every gift seemed to be as grand as the last. Although Iwaizumi had already figured out which smiles were fake and which were genuine. 

Two - Oikawa was passionate about a lot of things and when he wasn't pulling ridiculous faces or talking like he just wanted to impress the crowds, he was actually quite nice to speak to. Oikawa was a great conversationalist. And he was smarter than Iwaizumi had initially given him credit for.

Three - Iwaizumi was slowly realising that he didn't mind sharing a living space with Oikawa. He hadn't felt overly conscious about how he looked for quite a long time. 

Four - Oikawa seemed to feel the same way. 

Five - Oikawa's smile, when he received the cuddly toy, had been genuine.

Six - Iwaizumi very much wanted to be the cause of more of those genuine smiles.


	6. Iwaizumi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls excuse this chapater u_u I also updated the tags etc so pls check this out.

Oikawa had called the shots for the remainder of the day. Iwaizumi had been more than happy to let him take charge, not exactly being 100% clued up on how to make the festivities successful. But Oikawa seemed to have it under control, anyway. After opening their gifts, they'd gone to the Tiger cafe, despite Iwaizumi being adamant that they wouldn't be open on Christmas Day. 

He'd been wrong and Oikawa had teased him about it until Iwaizumi had thrown the loose change in his pocket at the brunette. 

It turned out that Oikawa actually knew the owners of the cafe, Iwaizumi had never met them because they'd been visiting family just outside of Tokyo. 

"Morning~~~! Kuroo, Kenma, this is Iwaizumi Hajime.. Iwa-chan, meet Kuroo and Kenma."

Kuroo seemed delighted to see Oikawa when they walked through the doors and Kenma only briefly raised his head from his phone. The pair were dressed in the usual waiting uniform that the other staff always wore. An easy-on-the-eyes red colour with a black apron and green-yellow buttons that vaguely reminded Iwaizumi of cats eyes. But then again, so did the two males who wore them. 

"Wow Tooru, you never mentioned that he was _this_ good looking." were the first words that had come from Kuroo's lips, which were curled upwards into a gentle smirk. Iwaizumi swore he saw Oikawa blush, even though the brunette simply waved his hand as a gesture for Kuroo to shut up. He ordered for them while Iwaizumi silently took a seat by the window, their usual spot, and rested his hands on the table. Oikawa had joined him within a few moments. 

"They agreed to open for us if I promised to let them eat with us." He stated, the drone in his voice sounding forced. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

"That's no problem. I'm grateful they opened in the first place. I'm starving." Oikawa seemed to relax at this and the plates of food arrived as if on cue. Iwaizumi shifted in the booth and Kenma slid in beside him, placing his phone down on the table, hands falling to rest in his lap. Kuroo slid in beside Oikawa, lazily draping his arm over the brunette's shoulders. Oikawa squirmed but the resistance was clearly half-assed.

"So, Iwaizumi, you're the lucky sap who got to room with tiny Tooru, then?" Kuroo seemed to have a permanent grin slapped across his face. Iwaizumi didn't know whether it was unsettling or calming. He went for a mix of the two. He took a long sip of his coffee before he shrugged in response.

"It was either that or the janitor's closet. Turns out it's not overly different. Both of them smell funky most of the time." He smiled as Kuroo chuckled and Oikawa nearly spat out his drink. 

"That's mean, Iwa-chan! And to think I invited you to meet Kuroo and Kenma!" 

"I was your ride here, Assikawa."

"I would have _walked_!" Oikawa huffed, a pout forming on his lips.

"What are you studying, Hajime-san?" It was Kenma who spoke now. Iwaizumi's gaze fell onto his small form. He was very delicate looking, and Iwaizumi cursed himself for half thinking he should still be in high school. His hair was almost completely black, with just the ends dyed blonde. He wondered if this had been done purposely - it suited him, anyway. His eyes were wide but half-lidded, and yet still held a certain curiosity that would probably still be deadpan, if curiosity had a sound. Kenma was a calming presence, a constrast to Kuroo's almost menacing one. 

"Sports medicine." Iwaizumi replied simply, unsure about how to expand on the answer. Kuroo intercepted before he could.

"I did that! The stuff's really interesting, and it's nice to know you can patch someone up so they can carry on playing their game." If Kuroo had been sending out intimidating waves before, he definitely was not now. His smirk had disappeared and was replaced with a grin, the eye not hidden beneath the mess of his spiky bangs wide and bright. "I mean I stopped after my first year because I realised blood freaked me out and you actually deal with it a lot in sports. Especially contact sports. I opened this place instead." Iwaizumi smiled at him when he stopped talking.

"Blood doesn't bother me, but I get what you mean. This place is quite the achievement too, though." 

"Oh well, Kenma decorated, I just wooed the customers." Kuroo chuckled, gaze falling on Kenma who blushed and picked his phone up off the table. 

"Check on the pastries, Tetsurou." he mumbled, fingers rapidly bumping against the buttons on his phone as he typed a message. Kuroo was up within a few seconds, making his way towards the back of the cafe.

"You're quiet, Assikawa." Iwaizumi turned his attention to Oikawa, whose gaze was fixated on him anyway. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. "Stop channelling your home planet for a second." 

Oikawa blinked away his daze, frowning at Iwaizumi's words. "Let's go to the gym after this, Iwa-chan. You can set for me." Iwaizumi was about to decline but he bit his tongue, nodding his head. The way it made Oikawa's eyes light up was reason enough for him to hold his tongue. 

Kuroo returned with a plate of pastries and removed his apron before settling back down. The four of them ate breakfast with minimal chatter, Kuroo and Oikawa caught up with each other and Iwaizumi managed to get a small conversation out of Kenma. He and Oikawa left after a few hours, Iwaizumi full from the feast that Kenma and Kuroo had laid out for them. Oikawa practically pushed him out of the door once they'd said goodbye. Iwaizumi felt he'd regret agreeing to set for Oikawa. 

~~

The roads were clear so it only took them a little while to get to the gym - which of course Oikawa had keys for. He let them in and locked the doors behind them. The way Oikawa changed when he was in a gym, Iwaizumi thought, was quite something to behold. He fell out of his pompous act like there were no lies between him and the court. From the first time Iwaizumi had noticed it, he'd been curious. While Oikawa spiked balls and served them with the same amount of confidence one could only wish to have, there were times when he wavered. Where he seemed to question himself mid-air whether he was going to hit the ball in the right position for a spiker to receive it. The hesitations were so small that you'd have to really pay attention to Oikawa himsef to notice them. 

Iwaizumi had made it his job to notice. 

"Come on Iwa-chan. Let's play volleyball."

For a good half an hour, Iwaizumi threw balls in the air and Oikawa spiked them with ease and confidence. But 30 minutes was enough for Iwaizumi and he called a time out after he heard the ball hit the floor after Oikawa's spike. He lowered himself to the floor where he was, pulling one of his legs to his chest and holding it there for a second, before doing the same with the other. Oikawa stared at him for a moment before joining him on the floor.

"You're seriously out of shape Iwa-chan." Oikawa smiled, tone light and teasing with the faintest hint of concern. "How long have you been out?" It was an innocent question that Iwaizumi thought about for a moment. He let both of his legs rest out in front of him.

"Maybe three years? It's not a lifetime away." Iwaizumi shrugged but Oikawa was frowning. 

"But that's your last year of High school? Did you just stop?" If it hadn't been for Oikawa's genuine noises of interest, Iwaizumi would have cut him off and told him to drop it. But there was nothing in Oikawas eyes that told him he was asking these things for personal gain, for ammunition to tease. 

"Halfway through my last year." 

Oikawa was on his knees now, bum resting on his feet which were tucked under him. He shuffled closer to Iwaizumi. "Why?" Oikawa tugged at his lip, as if he were waiting for Iwaizumi to stand and walk away. 

He didn't.

Iwaizumi stared at him before lightly patting his left knee. "I slipped." The words pained him to say and he forced the memories that came with it to leave him alone. Oikawa was staring at him with a look of horror. It made him want to run. "Stop making that face, Shittykawa. It's done." 

Oikawa stopped, teeth tugging at his lower lip as he glanced down at Iwaizumi's knee. "That's why you want to be a medical man, Iwa-chan." It was half a question and half a statement. Oikawa wasn't dumb - he could put two and two together. Iwaizumi shrugged. If he couldn't play the game then he at least wanted to do all he could to stop people going through the same as he did. If he noticed the tell tale signs beforehand, then he could stop it before it got worse. But trips and falls were not something he could control, sadly. He was about to say then when Oikawa's hand rested on his own. Iwaizumi tensed his jaw, Oikawa's skin warm against his own. He hadn't noticed how close Oikawa was now, knees slotted perfectly between Iwaizumi's already outstretched legs. Iwaizumi felt his breath catch in his throat as Oikawa's line of sight drew up to Iwaizumi's face. Their eyes met and Iwaizumi could feel his cheeks burn. 

"Well, yeah, but.. like I said... it's done." He removed his own hand from underneath Oikawa's, hoping it would make the other male move. Not that he actually wanted Oikawa to move, he actually liked the closeness, he liked being able to smell Oikawa's shampoo and the natural vanilla-scent of his skin. How did a guy smell like vanilla, anyway? 

Oikawa's hand eventually moved from Iwaizumi's knee, but rested instead on his shoulder. Oikawa was fully turned to face him now, and Iwaizumi found himself wanting to draw his knees up so that he could comfortably get closer to Oikawa. "Forever?" Oikawa breathed, hand moving ever so slightly to rest against Iwaizumi's neck, fingers lightly brushing against the bare skin. Iwaizumi's breathing almost stopped, so he nodded in response to Oikawa's question. "Then I'll play doubly hard for the both of us." Oikawa smiled, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks as he tugged at his lower lip again. Iwaizumi smiled back, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips.

"Thank you." 

Oikawa's blush deepened and he gently ran his fingers over Iwaizumi's jaw before letting his hand fall back to his side. Iwaizumi continued to hold his breath. 

"We can go back home, if you want to?" Oikawa cleared his throat. Iwaizumi didn't trust himself enough to speak, so he just nodded. "I'll clean up." Oikawa pushed himself to his feet, quickly moving to put away the balls. Iwaizumi watching him intently, his skin still burning pleasantly from where Oikawa had touched him. 

He couldn't help but feel a pang of worry in his chest at what Oikawa had said though. Oikawa already overdid it when he coached, Iwaizumi hated to think what playing hard for both of them would look like.


End file.
